Karen Gillan's Avengers Infinity War Workout

Avengers: Infinity War Star Shares How She Transformed Her Body For Nebula's Return

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The last time we saw Nebula, played by actress Karen Gillan, she was trying to stop her supervillan father, Thanos, from completing the Infinity Gauntlet. It's unclear whether or not Nebula has switched sides to get revenge against her father, but we do know that we're ready for her return to the big screen on April 27 in Avengers: Infinity War. In an exclusive interview with POPSUGAR, Gillan shared exactly what it took to transform into the space pirate Nebula. Continue reading to find out more.

Her Training Increased Tremendously

It's not uncommon for actors to adapt their personal lives to reflect the roles they're taking on, and Gillan explained that becoming Nebula required a complete lifestyle change. "I had to transform myself, because prior to playing the role [of Nebula], I didn't do any of that [strength training]," she said. She began working out more "in order to look like I could do damage to someone," Gillan jokingly added.

She Had to Learn Martial Arts

"When I first started playing this role, I had to start from scratch in terms of learning how to fight," Gillan told POPSUGAR. When she wasn't on set filming, she could be found training with the stunt crew learning a variety of martial arts choreography for her fight sequences.

She Revamped Her Diet

One of the biggest changes Gillan had to make was to her diet. She told POPSUGAR that she was trying to gain muscle for this role, which meant she had to increase her protein intake. In the morning, she would drink protein shakes, snacking on apples and almond butter throughout the day. Overall, she upped her caloric intake, eating a lot more than she typically would.

She Cut Back on Cardio

Gillan told us that since she started taking on action roles, she has begun to incorporate a lot of weightlifting into her workouts. While she still does cardio like cycling and running for stamina, they could easily film one fight scene for four days straight — and weightlifting is what helped her put on muscle. Out of all the training to prepare for her return to the big screen, she shared that she loved working on her legs, with her favorite exercises being squats and barbell deadlifts.

If you can't wait until April 27 for the premiere, check out this trailer below.